Wires are a highly safety critical component on any hang glider and we recommend their regular replacement. All Avian wires are manufactured from high quality high tensile galvanised steel wire. This is not only stronger than stainless steel wire when new, it is also more durable as it is less susceptible to fatigue, a stainless wire can look shiny and 'perfect' right up to the point it fails. Our standard wires are 7*7 construction which gives very good strength and durability. They are terminated with high quality tangs and are closed by a DIN standard ferrule swaged by a bench mounted hydraulic press. This is superior to the hand operated Nicopress crimping system in common use. Every reel of wire and every batch of ferrules is strength tested at Avian. Finally the wires are colour coded as below to indicate the year of manufacture, for example a black tag indicates 2020. (Decade must be inferred, but if you suspect your wires may be over 10 years old then they REALLY need changing!)